Published: Friday, January 25, 2013 at 03:52 PM.

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There’s a certain mental image that invariably comes to mind when you hear that a restaurant is “cafeteria style.”

You think of comfort food, prepared in large batches and kept in steam tables to be served to waiting diners. It might not always be the freshest, but it’s filling.

Then comes From The South Café, at 3033 Union Road in the Food Lion center, where you get to throw all those preconceptions out the window. The steam table here is three steps from the grill and cook stove, and the food is cooked in small batches to keep the offerings fresh.

The entrees and vegetables are prepared with a chef’s care for seasoning and style, and even the plate presentation (fish croquettes on a bed of grits with white gravy, for example) is given high-class attention.

There’s a certain mental image that invariably comes to mind when you hear that a restaurant is “cafeteria style.”

You think of comfort food, prepared in large batches and kept in steam tables to be served to waiting diners. It might not always be the freshest, but it’s filling.

Then comes From The South Café, at 3033 Union Road in the Food Lion center, where you get to throw all those preconceptions out the window. The steam table here is three steps from the grill and cook stove, and the food is cooked in small batches to keep the offerings fresh.

The entrees and vegetables are prepared with a chef’s care for seasoning and style, and even the plate presentation (fish croquettes on a bed of grits with white gravy, for example) is given high-class attention.

Owners Jennifer and Hector Villalobos have decades of experience in the culinary arts, and they bring it all to the table at From The South. The a la carte menu offers such Midwestern favorites as a pork cutlet sandwich, wings and fried fish, and the steam table on my Sunday visit was laden with freshly made mashed potatoes, sweet sautéed carrots, broccoli and a zucchini and yellow squash sauté that were a mouthful of summer.

The entrees were meat loaf drizzled with the kind of brown gravy that Southern cooks spend lifetimes trying to make, the aforementioned fish patties, golden-baked chicken, roasted turkey and pork loin, baked tilapia and a chicken pot pie with freshly made pastry on top that made me fight the urge to dive into it face-first.

Oh, and I almost forgot to mention the macaroni and cheese (also available fried if you’re there on the right day). It’s baked, with that perfect blend of custardy smoothness and cheesy bite that makes you want to curl up in a corner with a bowl of it.

The meat loaf was tender, but not in the way you’d normally expect from that dish. It wasn’t grainy; it didn’t fall apart when cut, but it also had not a trace of greasiness. There were hints of oregano and rosemary in it, and the gravy was, as previously mentioned, ideal.

The fish patty was what truly surprised me. I’m accustomed to this sort of thing on a buffet. It’s invariably bready, barely seasoned and only edible with copious addition of salt and pepper at table. My hand didn’t even quiver toward the salt or pepper shakers with this one, though. It was meaty and well-seasoned and the creamy grits upon which it was served made a perfect accompaniment.

And then we come to dessert. These are made in-house by Jennifer, and you’ll want to sample them. I’ve been doing really well on my weightloss regime, and one of the keys to my success has been limiting desserts. However, the caramel-drizzled cheesecake waiting quietly at the end of the food line reeled me in like a prize bass, and I was helpless in its presence.

I didn’t mind the indulgence, though, once I got a bite. The cheesecake filling was light and not cloyingly sweet, but very rich. The graham cracker crust was thicker than you’d normally expect, and well-made. The caramel drizzle brought it all together perfectly, with a heavy, toasty sweetness that mixed well with the smooth filling.

I’m going to go back on a day when she makes Sun-Drop Cake. If the cheesecake is anything to judge by, it’s a winner.